Elektra Women's Choir rebrands as Elektra
The new name reflects the ensemble’s commitment to inclusion and embraces gender neutrality
Elektra.
ELEKTRA WOMEN’S CHOIR is now being referred to simply as Elektra. The rebranding, which embraces gender neutrality, reflects the ensemble’s commitment to inclusion and diversity while acknowledging its history of leadership in celebrating music for adult treble voices.
Since its founding in 1987 by co-conductors Morna Edmundson and Diane Loomer, Elektra has championed the works of women composers and provided a platform for underrepresented voices in the classical music world. This step explicitly names Elektra as a choir of adult treble voices.
As part of the change, Elektra’s website has been rebranded and relaunched, now being more accessible and user-friendly.
Elektra is also encouraging new adult soprano and alto singers to join them. The ensemble’s first performance of its 2024-25 season is The Light of Hope Returning on November 30 and December 1. Read Stir’s feature on the work, which includes a storybook-like video projection of visual artist Kevork Mourad’s hand-drawn animation, here.
Earlier this year, Elektra announced that Edmundson will be stepping down as artistic director after 38 years with the organization following this season. The search is on for a new leader. ![]()
Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.
Related Articles
Easing off some of the more disturbing themes and melodrama, the production feels somehow lighter, stripped-down, and relatably human
Program also features George Benjamin’s Concerto for Orchestra, dedicated to the memory of British composer Oliver Knussen
One of the weirdest Hollywood films ever made helped bring local bandleader Scott McLeod back to shadowy instrumental soundscapes
Kari Turunen directs 10 singers in a concert of English sacred music composed during the late 15th century
Acclaimed cellist Christina Mahler explains how she was captured by musical and technical innovations of the unjustly overlooked 18th-century composer
Two-time Polaris Music Prize–winner combines traditional Wolastoqey melodies and daring orchestral compositions with remarkable tenor vocals
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Mass in G minor joins other works that search for spiritual heights
The veteran folk songwriter mixes musical warmth and political urgency to forge new approaches to the world’s biggest shared challenges
Lon Chaney’s scary makeup, a vintage pipe organ, and a score by Andrew Downing bring eerie atmosphere to the Orpheum show
The Montreal-born musician has already had a storied career, but his star continues to rise
BlueShore at CapU and New Old World Music Society present the global new music ensemble
Nature-inspired program includes compositions by Veljo Tormis, R. Murray Schafer, and Nico Muhly
The concert is part of the group’s Canadian tour of Tawazûn, its debut album rooted in Algerian melodies and energetic jazz
Rising star embraces the complexity of Verdi’s tragic daughter figure, and follows with another debut in Fauré’s Requiem with the VSO
The duo of Adèle Trottier-Rivard and Nicolas Basque likes to keep an element of onstage tension at its shows
Program centres on R. Murray Schafer’s Theseus for harp and string quartet
The young Russian-American virtuoso has built an international reputation on major prize wins and an innovative approach
Artist from the Tobique First Nation infuses his bold piano compositions and sublime melodies with classical, jazz, and pop influences
Program features Derek Holman’s Sir Christëmas Suite, the world premiere of Gerda Blok-Wilson’s As if New-Created, and more
Performance of monumental choral work also features the Vancouver Chamber Choir
The singer’s metaphor-rich work is rooted in the traditions of ghazals and Sufi poetry
